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said, answering his previous question.
    He was silent and she wished she could get inside his head, figure out what he was thinking. Mack was stubborn as hell in his own way—he just dressed it up as being Mr. Strong, Dark and Silent.
    “I didn ’ t need a police escort to do the right thing,” she added when the silence stretched on too long. No . She was filling up the silence, something she ’ d vowed she ’ d stop doing. She didn ’ t have to explain herself.
    “That wasn ’ t what I meant.” His fingers curled around hers, lifting her hand from the counter, cupping it. His other hand scooped her keys up and dropped them into her palm. “Family can be a good thing,” he said quietly. “ Friends. You don ’ t always have to go in alone, Mimi.”
    But she did.
    She ’ d made that bed, so there was no point in complaining now.
    “Go take your ride. I ’ ll be here when you get back.”
    And that was precisely what she was afraid of.

     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Mimi had gone upstairs to her apartment, thrown on jeans and boots and grabbed her jacket. Riding in shorts would be a dumb move, even for her. Road rash had nothing to do with rebellion and everything to do with an expensive prescription for painkillers. She ’ d spent the rest of the afternoon throwing the bike around the curves and racing down the straight parts of the road. Fortunately, the California Highway Patrol hadn ’ t spotted her. Strong ’ s new sheriff also took an equally dim view on speeding, although the last time Sheriff Hernandez had ticketed her, the woman had muttered Darwinian under her breath. Sheriff Hernandez and Mack should probably date, because they both had a fine appreciation for the rules and a different definition of survival from Mimi herself.
    And also they both clearly thought Mimi was going to kill herself.
    Not a chance. She liked living too much, even if she did all that living on the edge. She ’ d be fine. She always was.
    Strong rose up to meet her and, like always, she pretended the place didn ’ t give her a funny pang. Strong was a little place with a big heart and she could have done far worse than end up here. Sure, there were days—and nights—when the place was too small, its cozy handful of buildings closing in on her, but most times, it was home and she was grateful that Auntie Belle had brought her here. In addition to the historic firehouse, a general store, and Faye Donovan ’ s spanking new art gallery, the place hosted more antique shops than any one town needed. It was pretty and came with a history. Just like her, or so she liked to think.
    Yeah, right. She snorted at that one.
    The art gallery ’ s parking lot up ahead was full. Of course, full was relative in Strong. A quick count yielded ten vehicles, six of them no-nonsense pick-ups. Faye must be having some kind of get together. Mimi was fairly certain her invite to Faye ’ s wedding had been a courtesy invite. After all, the other woman had invited all the rest of Strong to watch her exchange her I do s with Evan Donovan. Leaving Mimi out would have been too pointed. And it wasn ’ t as if they were enemies. It was just that they weren ’ t friends.
    Mimi didn ’ t have girlfriends.
    “And that ’s just fine, ” she said, mentally kicking herself. Talking out loud was a definite sign of the crazies. She probably didn ’ t have girlfriends because she was friends with their guys. Or sleeping with them. Once.
    That was definitely not the kind of behavior that would endear her to the locals. She should probably make an effort to make friends, but she had no idea how she would do that. Since she wasn ’ t planning on sticking around long-term anyhow, it didn ’ t matter. She ’ d gotten the bar back on its feet and, in another six months, she could hire a manager to oversee it in her absence. She ’ d be out of here and back on the road.
    In deference to Sheriff Hernandez ’ s new regime of filling in the